summary editorial
page 4 page 6
barcelona barcelona
economy interviews 
jordi portabella
page 8
barcelona 
soars
The strength that urban areas have acquired in the generation of growth means that big cities have to
have proactive economic promotion policies. So throughout its history, Barcelona has shown an
extraordinary capacity to develop its economy and adapt itself to the needs and demands of modern
times and the environment. In this context of constant change, the basic function of the area of
Economic Promotion at Barcelona City Council, in collaboration with the other institutions and
page 9 page 11 stakeholders in the city, becomes really important in the consolidation of the position and projection of
the city to the world. Its diverse objectives include the strengthening of the labour market, maintaining
continuous communication with economic and business networks and the bolstering of quality growth.
Taking into account the results of 2006, according to 10 variables which determine the economic
barcelona barcelona activity of Barcelona, I believe that we are moving along the right lines. This doesn't mean that in
in the world 22@ Barcelona there aren't things that can be improved. Problems that go unresolved can endanger the
whole urban economy and cloud the established social cohesion.  
The main challenge is to make sure the benefits of the city's current buoyant economy reach citizens
and their homes, and that this is perceived in their daily lives, with real improvements in healthcare,
the education system, in the public transport network, in the security of citizens, the cleaning of our
page 13 page 14 page 14 streets, more green zones, or a better cultural offer. 
As well we need to add prestige to education and the concept of hard work as the main ways to progress
barcelona barcelona in our professional careers; it would be very worrying if our youth found themselves slipping into the
barcelona idea that constancy and work-well-done are not the way forward to social and professional recognition.
trade fairs bioregion companies To convince them that this isn't the way forward, we have to fight against low job security especially
amongst our young people. 
These are challenges that we can not address without the collaboration of the whole sector involved,
the complicity of citizens, a good working relationship amongst the institutions responsible for this area
and also the private sector.
page 18 President of the Commission of Economic Promotion,
Occupation and Knowledge:
Jordi Portabella
barcelona Managing Director of the Economic Promotion Sector:
technologies Màrius Rubert
Head of Communication and Quality:
Agustí Esteve
Jordi Portabella, 
Deputy Mayor
President of the Economic Promotion, Employment and Knowledge Comission
barcelona economy
the economic activity of the area of barcelona in 2006
5. Tourism
Number of visits and overnights in the city of Barcelona 
An analysis of the main economic benchmark indicators show that 2006 registered Other indicators like exports, the cons- 2005 2006
significant growth in vital sectors for the development of the city and its hinterland. truction of housing, commercial property 19%
Especially positive was the evolution of employment rates in Barcelona with new investments and above all, stock market · 6,029,699 visits · 7,188,000 visits
records in the number of people paying social security, the activity at the port and air- movements, reflect the buoyancy of the 20%
port -two important platforms for the economic growth-.  economy of Barcelona.    · 10,047,526 overnights · 12,110,000 overnights approx.
Other important factors that determine the capacity of the capital of Catalonia to beco-
me an international business city is its trade fair activity, with fairs like 3GSM World 6. Exports
Congress or Bread & Butter and congresses like the World Cardiology Congress.  Volume of exports from Barcelona (in millions of Euro)
2005 2006
15.9%
33,207 38,473 estimate
fact file 2006
1. Employment
2005: 1,025,681 employed people 7. Foreign Investment
2006: 1,058,149 employed people
3.2% Foreign investment received in Catalonia (in millions of Euro)
2005 2006
2,567,31 2,516,52 =
2. Port
Freight Passengers 8. Stock Market
Stock Market trading (in millions of Euro)
· 2,3 million teus and 47.5 · 1.4 million cruise passengers
thousand tonnes of general freight 10%
2005 2006
· Increase of 10% in outbound · Increase of 15% in the number of
container freight users compared to 2005 15% 37.72%
238,672 328,700
3. Airport
9. Real Estate Market
2005 2006
10.6% Construction of housing/flats 2005 2006
· 27,131,448 passengers · 30,008,152 passengers
3.26% Catalonia 108,030 128,883 19.3%
· 90,445,906 tonnes of freight · 93,397,869 tonnes of freight
Barcelona 56,060 66,280 18.23%
4. Trade fair activity
2004* 2006
10. Investment in offices
19%
21,000 exhibiting companies 25,000 exhibiting companies 2005 2006
4.5%
2.2 million visitors 2.3 million visitors Barcelona 1,114 1,627 46%
million Euro million Euro
* The comparative is made with respect to 2004 because many fairs are held biannually.
4 5
barcelona interviews jordi portabella barcelona interviews jordi portabella
interview with jordi portabella, 
second deputy mayor at barcelona city council, They highlight the fact that Barcelona The number of tourists that have visited It is now fourth, in front of Brussels but
offers a great combination of culture, Barcelona this year has again beaten all behind London, Paris, and Frankfurt and it
and president of the commission of economic promotion, architecture, and leisure options with a records and this again brings up the is considered a city with an extraordinary
quality public transport network and good debate about the limits of tourism in the quality of life. Although it might seem that
employment and knowledge urban communications. But some consi- city. What are the real effects of tourism this doesn't affect citizens, I believe that we
der its weaker points are pollution and on the city? have to explain that the confidence genera-
cleanliness. Those in charge of fairs orga- ted by Barcelona translates into the arrival
nised recently in Barcelona, like the The city government has of course been of companies, professionals, creative
As the top person in charge of Economic Promotion at Barcelona City Council over the last four years, Jordi Portabella 3GSM and Bread & Butter shows, have trying to develop Barcelona and, since it talent, and that these have a very positive
recaps on the city's main economic assets, the questions that still have to be resolved, the capacity of the capital of become convinced that the city is ideal is a fashionable place, we wanted it to economic impact on the city, on its com-
Catalonia, its economic stakeholders and its citizens to deal with the challenges laid out.  for their events because of its trade fair move forward and consolidate its tourism merce, hotels, firms, and in the generation
facilities, with its very competitive offer model. With this premise, we have based of employment. The rising trend of the last
especially when the facilities enlarge- the promotion of the city on a strengthe- few years is a demonstration that we are
To start with what's your analysis of the ments are finished, and the fact that it ning of Barcelona's position by differentia- enjoying the fruits of this economic promo-
economic situation of Barcelona today? enjoys a rather unusual easy-access from ting the brand based on its identity and its tional strategy being carried out. 
the airport, and a central location in the cosmopolitanism. That's why Barcelona's
Barcelona is experiencing a change in its city compared to other European options. Tourism Board, the consortium made up the government of the city has to
productive structures like the rest of the by the Council and Chamber of be prepared and have the capa-
industrialised world. In the last few years, I believe that we have to explain Commerce to promote Barcelona around city to get in and act on pheno-
the city's economy has gone through a that the confidence generated the world, promotes tourism essentially menon like this before they occur
process of transformation where the areas by Barcelona translates into the based on a quality product focusing on
of knowledge and information have acqui- arrival of companies, professio- our culture, history, architecture, design, Is Barcelona an expensive city? 
red an increasingly important role both in nals, creative talent, and that etc. On the other hand, we should high-
industry and service sectors. This genera- these have a very positive econo- light the fact that the make-up of tourism Living in Barcelona represents an impor-
tes modifications in the way we produce mic impact on the city in our city shows an equilibrium between tant economic expense for many citizens
and organise our work and this affects tra- professional tourism, like trade fairs and and all those involved are trying to resolve
ditional economic sectors. One example of Barcelona is betting on the so-called congresses, and vacation tourism, which such difficult situations. But we can't just
this is the contracting of services and acti- have to choose education and training as One big and urgent challenge which is new economy for its future and as such means we have been able to “deseasona- brush off the fact that Barcelona, in the
vities by businessmen to other companies the main tools for the present and future. still left to resolve is the railways and the it has come up with the idea of the new lise” tourism for the first time. The bene- Spanish context, is an expensive city where
related to the activity. This generates a We have to bring back an old idea, which network. We urgently need to modernise 22@ district. Do you believe in the spe- fits on the whole city, therefore, are diver- many citizens see their real purchasing
new area of activity, which falls between now seems more obsolete than ever, that the local train network and extend the cialisation of a whole district?  se and transversal. Professional tourism power falling because their salaries are not
that of industry and services. In fact, in if you are well-trained and you try hard capacity of the freight train network. The and meetings illustrate the vitality of our rising at the same rate as the cost of living. 
the area of SMEs (small and medium you will see progressive returns in the enlargement to the port and airport toge- This is a unique strategy that the city has economy and its position in the global
sized companies), this area of business in form of a better quality of life, better sala- ther with the arrival of the TGV high- adopted, and one that has also required a economy. In Catalonia, salary increases are applied
Barcelona is one of the most powerful and ries and more time. speed train should correct some of the significant economic investment and a in line with the Spanish inflation rate,
dynamic assets in the generation of current imbalances, although I would also permanent dialogue between administra- The whole 22@ project has been which is always below the rate registered
wealth and employment.  In fact 30% of The network of communications, and like to insist that for things to truly chan- tion, universities and companies. This is carried out to create a specific in Catalonia, and this is something that
workers in the city occupy jobs in emer- especially the port, airport, and railways ge, Catalonia's institutions have to partici- fundamental in understanding the nature sort of environment, to bring has been going on for years. If we look at
ging sectors of the new economy. The are very important springboards for the pate in the management-side. of the proposal and it is the formula for a about synergies between emer- Europe, though, Barcelona isn't conside-
government of the city has to be prepared economy of the capital of Catalonia. new culture of business in cities and the ging sectors without forgetting red an expensive city. 
and have the capacity to get in and act on Another important asset for the city is world. The urban plan will affect the equi- traditional industry and our
phenomenon like this before they occur.   The objective data on the activity of the the trade fair activity.  valent of 115 blocks of downtown Mediterranean roots According to a comparative from 2006 on
port and airport reflect the fact that we are Barcelona; the project is being carried out the cost of living of cities in the world,
Internationalising the economy on the right track. These two infrastructu- Trade fairs and congresses in Barcelona according to the Mediterranean model of What is Barcelona's international positio- Barcelona comes in at number 21 in the list,
of Barcelona requires that our res, that are now being enlarged, will have been seen extraordinary levels of mixed uses, and built with the latest ning? behind Madrid, Prague, Rome, London,
airport and also the port, two of channel the economic activity created by activity over the last few years and this generation services and technologies. The Dublin and even Moscow. In any case, the
the highest quality platforms companies in Barcelona and Catalonia. In has brought about incalculable knock-on whole thing has been designed to genera- Barcelona has climbed one position in the vitality of the economy of the city is returned
around, have all the capacity this way, and especially in the case of the effects in the city. At the moment we are te an environment that will be especially list of preferred cities to locate busines- to people and their quality of life and we
they need to operate airport, we are trying to rectify a historic organising international benchmark apt for knowledge-based and technology ses, according to a survey of the leading should remember this when carrying out any
deficit that has dragged on for years trade fairs like the 3GSM World development activities, but also with resi- executives in Europe. balance and reaching generic conclusions.
One of the most positive indicators rela- because of a lack of investment. Even so, Congress, Bread & Butter, or the dential uses. The whole 22@ project has
ted to 2006 was the number of people I believe there is another question still left Cardiology Congress. These fairs differ been carried out to create a specific sort
working in Barcelona. to work out and that is to rethink the from the past ones in the sense that they of environment, to bring about synergies
model of management at the airport and move huge numbers of visitors and pro- between emerging sectors without forget-
According to social security data, there are more generally in our other infrastructu- fessionals. I would say that we have ting traditional industry and our
more than one million workers in the city, res, too. So, just as happens across the entered into an excellent upward spiral Mediterranean roots. The project started
and this at a time when the city doesn't whole of Europe, we have to decentralise and the main draw is just that expressed in the year 2000 with the constitution of
have the maximum number of inhabi- management and involve those adminis- by delegates when you ask them about the municipal company 22@, and has a
tants. I believe that Barcelona has expe- trations which are closest, and open up their experiences. projected finish date of 2020.  Of the four
rienced a very positive process, taking the possibility of private initiatives. million metres squared of build space
into account the constant arrival of people Internationalising the economy of we have based the promotion of available, currently some 1.2 million
from abroad looking for work. We are dea- Barcelona requires that our airport and the city on a strengthening of metres squared is under construction or
ling with the first challenge in the right also the port, two of the highest quality Barcelona's position by differen- in the licence phase. This could mean
way, but the big objective now is to get platforms around, have all the capacity tiating the brand based on its that the 22@ termination date is brought
our workers the best training possible. We they need to operate. identity and its cosmopolitanism forward. 
6 7
barcelona soars barcelona in the world
air emirates connects barcelona and dubai 40 companies and institutions look for business
opportunities in vietnam and singapore
Since the end of 2006 Barcelona and Dubai has a cargo flight
operated by Emirates Sky Cargo. The line unites, twice a
week, these two cities with direct flights exclusively for freight
transport. A business and institutional delegation from Barcelona made up of sixty-or-so delega- Vietnam and Singapore form part of the
tes has travelled to Vietnam and Singapore on a Business Bridge promotional cam- ASEAN free trade zone in Southeast Asia,
This new line allows Barcelona to consolidate its cargo traffic to the Near East paign organised by Economic Promotion and the Chamber of Commerce. The trip had which is an association of nations whose
and countries in Asia covered by the Emirates network. a double-edged objective: to provide support for the internationalisation of Catalan objective is to achieve economic growth
companies and to attract foreign investments to the Barcelona area. and bolster the stability of the region.
The company has started with two services a week with an Airbus 310 and a
capacity for 40 tonnes of freight, and according to demand, the company will Jordi Portabella, second deputy mayor and the head of Economic Promotion at The official presentation of Barcelona to
considerincreasing the frequency and capacity of the service. Some of the pro- Barcelona City Council, has highlighted the importance of the delegation: “Under the Vietnamese stakeholders took place last
ducts being transported in these flights are materials for the chemical and phar- name of Barcelona, a very important representation of the economic and scientific sta- January 16th with a seminar called
maceutical industry, spare parts and clothing. This new operation is the fruit of keholders of the city have presented themselves here with a common aim, which is to "Business Opportunities with Barcelona",
the Air Route Development Committee (CDRA), which aims to increase the show the real possibilities of growth of the capital of Catalonia in terms of business, which was attended by around 100 busi-
number of inter-continental flights from Barcelona's airport and which recently logistics, technology, tourism, science and universities." Portabella also added that nessmen and a high ranking official from
brought in direct flights to Singapore, Bogota and Estonia. "events like this one show why Barcelona is considered one of the best cities at pro- the Popular Committee of Ho Chi Minh
moting itself abroad by European businessmen". City.
direct cargo connection between shenzen and barcelona The Council and the Chamber of Commerce was accompanied by some twenty com- During the Singapore stage of the visit on
panies and other institutions and entities like 22@, Barcelona Tourism Board, January 18th, the Barcelona mission
Catalonia Tourism Board, the UB's Barcelona Science Park; the Autonomous carried out a presentation addressed at
The Chinese transport the south of China, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, which passes through Brescia, University's Research Park, the BioRegion of Catalonia, Barcelona Medical Centre, the the biotechnology and ICT sectors of this
company Jade Cargo and lands in Barcelona with a Boeing 747-400ERF. Jade Cargo International has chosen Air Routes Development Committee -created by the Generalitat, AENA, the City Council Asian country under the tittle "Business
International has extended its flight plan to Air Logistics Group to represent it exclusively in Spain and Portugal. The fleet of Jade and Chamber of Commerce in order to attract intercontinental flights from Prat Airport, Opportunities in Barcelona Biotech and
three new destinations: Barcelona, Osaka Cargo is based at Baoan International Airport in Shenzhen. The company was founded as the Port of Barcelona, the Universal Forum of Cultures Foundation and Casa Asia. Information & Communication Technology
and Brescia. The company is to fly three a merger between Shenzhen Airlines (51%), Lufthansa Cargo (25%) and DEG-Deutsche sectors". In parallel to this visit, and as a
flights a week leaving from Shenzhen, in Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (24%). The airline currently has 200 workers. The economic sectors of Barcelona represented on the Business Bridge included: qua- way of strengthening the relationship bet-
lity manufacturing products (LOEWE Hermanos, Imperio del Antílope/KASTORIA, CAR- ween Barcelona and Singapore, the City
BONNEL, XIETA); foodstuffs (ASIA IMPORT 189); the chemical industry (Outdoor Council and the Ministry of Industry and
Systems, Productos BBQ); pharmaceuticals (Laboratoris Viñas, Invent Farma Group); Commerce of the Republic of Singapore
star alliance bets on barcelona for its southern retail developers (Value Retail Management); biotechnology (OZON GENOMICS); ICTs, signed a collaboration accord to promote
information and communication technologies (SIT CONSULTING); logistics mutual development through foreign
headquarters in europe (CLASQUÍN, Pradal Logística, NEOLNVEST ASIA) and tourism services (Hotel Fira investment and business advice exchan-
Palace, Hilton-Spain, Atlanta Viajes, the Majestic Grup). ge services.
Star Alliance Star Alliance's proposal, which should get the go-ahead from AENA at the end of the
wants to group its first semester of 2007, includes twelve companies (Spanair, Air Canada, Air New The Barcelona delegation visited two areas in Southeast Asia which both stand out for
airlines together in the south terminal of Zealand, Austrian, bmi, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, TAP their economic dynamism. Vietnam, the second-fastest growing economy in the region
the Prat de Llobregat Airport, which will Portugal, Thai, United and US Airways) and this would mean the addition of 60 check- after China has over the last few years registered growth rates of between 7% and 8%,
come on-line after the middle of 2008. in desks. As well, it wants to use twenty self check-in machines, between 20 and 25 and the city-state of Singapore, the best example of a mature economy that has mana-
The Star Alliance plan aims to group departure gates and access ramps, an 800 metre-squared VIP room, sales offices con- ged to specialise in high value activities. 
together some thirty new air connections nected to the check-in area and agile security controls for business passengers.
from Barcelona airport, that will make
Prat the southern European operations The City Council, Generalitat, and the Chamber of Commerce have shown their enthu-
centre of the company. siasm for the Star Alliance proposal, which has already been carried out successfully in
airports like Narita, in Tokyo (Japan), or in Bangkok (Thailand).
airlines take advantage of madrid-barcelona 
route before tgv arrival
With just a year before the planned arrival of the TGV high-speed train in Barcelona, This company, part of the Norwegian SAS
airliners are boosting their presence on the Barcelona-Madrid air route, which has group, already has 32.2% of the market
become the busiest line in the world.  Spanair and Vueling have already announced and Vueling has increased its flights from
they will increase their flights on this route, which will rise from 59 round trips to 68.  2 to 10. 
In 2005, some 4.1 million people used air transport to travel between Barcelona and The intention of these companies is to
Madrid, as opposed to 1.4 million train users. Iberia carried 2.8 million passengers via position themselves in the business mar-
its air shuttle service while RENFE transported 1.4 million and the rest of airlines 1.3. ket before the TGV starts to operate from
Barcelona. The experience of TGV lines
Iberia's shuttle clients are the main targets of airlines like Vueling, Spanair, Air Europa like Madrid-Seville and Seville-Zaragossa,
and Air Madrid. Spanair already offers the possibility of open tickets with no reserva- where train services have captured 70%
tion clause and prepared for immediate departure and it has increased its daily return and 95% of the market respectively, is a
flights from 46 to 52. clear threat for the air shuttle service.  
8 9
barcelona in the world barcelona 22@
new business mission to india 22@ promotes exchanges 
with new companies in 10 countries
The Economic Promotion department of audio-visual sector, and one in Bangalore for ICT companies. The mission's objective
Barcelona City Council and Barcelona's was to analyse the opportunities and competitive factors of the sector in Mumbai and
Chamber of Commerce organised a tech- Bangalore, while also participating in the trade fair "Bangalore IT 2006" with compa- The technology district 22@ will promote accords with similar platforms in 10 countries Barcelona ", explains Mariona Ferrer, head
nology and audio-visual promotional nies taking part via an institutional stand. As well, there was a trip to technology com- in order to bring newly created companies to its start-up incubators and at the same time of the Landing Programme. 
event in India last October with the parti- panies Wipro, Blue Star and the Information Technology Institute (IIIT-b); and an eco- to facilitate the installation of other Catalan technology firms in incubators in China,
cipation of small and medium sized com- nomic promotion and ICT seminar in Bangalore, which was attended by 60 Indian busi- Mexico, Sweden, France, Holland, Bulgaria, Chile, Argentina, India, and Korea. This The first Chinese investment in Catalonia
panies from the ICT sector in Barcelona nessmen. Some fifty meetings were held with Indian companies in the ICT area. means that foreign companies will be able to spend three years in the 22@ district and will be by the Chinese group Hutchison
and the municipal company 22@. This Catalan companies will be able to do the same abroad. and the Catalan company Ter Cat, with
was the second business mission to India the contract for the new cargo terminal in
in one year after November 2005's This exchange programme has been named Landing and it is being promoted by the the Port of Barcelona. As well, there are
Business Bridge when 24 Catalan com- Innovation Park of La Salle University and the University Polytechnic of Catalonia. Start- two international companies interested in
panies visited this Asian country. The dif- up incubators have existed in Catalonia for many years now, but this will be the first time going to China and two Dutch companies
ference between the 2005 mission, that an exchange programme takes place. that have been in contact with 22@ to set
which included representatives from up in the technology district. 
diverse sectors, and this one, was that all "We hope that some five companies come from each country and that they spend three
the companies were all from the areas of years in the incubator and that afterwards they keep some sort of presence here in 
ICT: Derecho.com; CTEuropa; InQA.labs;
MSS; SIPS.L, Tatamia Solutions S.L,
Tertulia Digital, Garrigues Advocats and
Assessors Tributaris. 22@ draws 27,854 workers to poblenou in five years
The mission included two stopovers: in
Mumbai, mainly for companies in the
The municipal technology project 22@ is 2006 has closed with 291 companies Another sector worth keeping in mind is
starting to take form and not just on already set up or pending installation in that of education, via the different univer-
maps and projections. The Plan to trans- the near future. Almost half (48%) are sities that have reserved space in the dis-
alimentaria to have a replicer trade fair in argentina form the old industrial district of related to new technologies (ICT) and trict. The Pompeu Fabra University, the
Poblenou into a new business and urban media companies, the two sectors that Open University of Catalonia, and
centre of Barcelona has helped bring the have moved forward most until now. As Barcelona University already have 1,569
Alimentaria, the international trade fair This new launch is a step forward in the the maximum of exhibitors and visitors arrival of 27,854 workers to the district well we can highlight other companies set- workers in Poblenou. To these we have to
for foodstuffs and drinks which is held international expansion strategy of the internationally" and "to increase its size of Sant Martí since 2001, a fact that con- ting up in the area like finance and insuran- add 10,000 students per day when all
every two years in Barcelona, will have Alimentaria brand name, one of the most via the creation of fairs in strategic firms the employment generation poten- ce companies, firms related to real estate the centres are in service.
an equivalent event in Argentina. The important fairs in the world, which also markets ". tial of the city. and construction, foodstuffs and hotels.
trade fair will be called Alimentaria has homologues in Lisbon and Mexico According to those in charge at 22@,
Mercosur and it is the result of an accord City DF. 2008 should be a tipping point for the
between Alimentaria Exhibitions, Reed setting up of new companies. Of the
Exhibitions Argentina and the trade fair According to Agustín Cordón, managing 27,854 employees referred to before,
institution La Rural. The new trade fair director of Fira de Barcelona and president 17,715 already work in Poblenou, and
will be held for the first time next October of the Board of Alimentaria Exhibitions, the 10,139 others will be starting over
30th - November 1st and it will be held this project covers the two basic objecti- the forthcoming months.
biannually. ves that initially brought about the crea-
tion of Alimentaria Exhibitions: "to reach 
barcelona beats prague 
for european air products centre
Barcelona has beaten Prague in the race to win the headquarters
of the shared services centre for Europe of the multinational com- 22@, star of the council's stand 
pany Air Products, represented in Spain by Carburos Metálicos. The new centre with
260 qualified workers will be set up in Arboretum Business Centre in Cornellà. at barcelona meeting point
The new centre will require an investment of 8 million Euro, which will add to the 30
million Euro spent every year by Carburos Metálicos on its Spanish facilities. It is the The 22@Barcelona project was the star of the Council's stand in the 10th edition of
market leader in Spain in the sector of gases for industrial and medical uses. the International Barcelona Meeting Point Show (BMP), in the professional sector.
During the BMP, 22@ made the most of the event to present a "Virtual Tour of the
The Cornellà centre will manage the financial, logistics, and customer services for the Innovation District", a recreation in 3D allowing people to get to know the final result
whole Air Products group, which is located in 11 European countries (the UK, Ireland, of the construction of the Barcelona Media Park, where the Pompeu Fabra University
Belgium, France, Holland, Austria, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Switzerland) and Israel. plans to move its communications courses, and where the company Mediacomplex will
According to Erwin Zwicky, managing director of Carburos Metálicos, Barcelona was build a large audio-visual production centre.
chosen because of “the availability of human resources and logistics at a reasonable
cost ", amongst other factors.
10 11
barcelona 22@ barcelona trade fairs
22@ signs an accord to attract chinese companies barcelona in international trade fairs
to the innovation district
With the aim of promoting the innovation Both parks are pooling their efforts to connect the innovation systems in Barcelona and
district, 22@Barcelona and Shanghai Shanghai in order to develop global initiatives in Information and Communication The Department of Economic Promotion Some 61 contacts were made and perhaps the most relevant were those made with
Caohejing Hi-Tech Park have signed an Technologies (ICT), Media, Bio and Energy. They will also facilitate business co-opera- at Barcelona City Council, together with the co-ordinator of the Fitex project (Foundation for Textile Innovation) which has the
accord to attract Chinese companies to set tion, innovation, international business development, foreign investment, the attraction Barcelona Design Centre and PIMEC, support of Copca, also a meeting with the organisation of Textile Sourcing Solutions,
up in the 22@Barcelona district via the of international talent, and the exchange of resources. took part in the World SME Expo 2006 which manages contracts with Chinese companies in the textile sector, a meeting with
Landing Programme promoted by the and Innovation & Design Expo with a Lawrence Yipp, Director for the West of Europe at HKTDC, with whom conserversa-
University Polytechnic of Catalonia (UPC), The Shanghai Caohejing Hi-Tech Park has 1,200 high-tech companies companies con- stand to receive visitors and handle tions have started regarding Barcelona's participation as the regional space at I&D
La Salle Innovation Park and the innova- nected with ICT, Biomedicine, Energy and industrial aerospace clusters. questions as well as distributing promo- 2008, and, finally, contacts with the head of the Italian Stand, a model which to
tion district. tional material.    follow for Barcelona in the next edition of this fair. 
The presence of Catalan companies at
these trade fairs included Carrera
Disseny (in the I&D) and Craman (in  W-
SME), and they were able to promote
canal ip sets up in 22@ district themselves via their own stand.
Barcelona Design Centre participated as
The on-line marketing consultants Canal IP has inaugurated its new headquarters in the 22@Barcelona dis- a speaker in the Design Week (the I&D
trict. Canal IP is a leader and pioneer in that it offers professional on-line marketing services to the Hispanic fair).
market. The company, with more than 10 years experience, closed 2006 with a turnover of 900,000 Euro
and currently has more than 1,200 clients from 42 countries and more than 800 distributors. The main objective of the trip, apart
from accompanying the two exhibiting
companies taking part, was to make
contacts with the Hong Kong Trade
Development Council (HKTDC), organi-
ser of the World SME Expo, with a view
city council to conserve 114 elements to taking part in 2008 as the "Design
Region" and, at the same time, design
from the architectonic heritage of poblenou the participation conditions for 2007
(with companies). 
Barcelona City Council has announced it The Catalogue Plan, apart from aiming at tripling the number of conserved elements, will
will pass a Special Industrial Heritage of cover the Poblenou area and doesn't just consider buildings and architectonic aspects but
Poblenou Plan. This plan will include the also the roads, the study of energy sources, workers' housing, the infrastructure of public
conservation of some 114 elements, 46 of services and the actual modification of the urban landscape. It includes the promotion of
which were already catalogued and 68 our heritage and the creation a Centre of Industrial Culture, which will be located in Can The Economic Promotion department at As well, Barcelona received an award as
new ones are included. This plan is an Saladrigas. Barcelona City Council travelled to the foreign exhibitor par excellence. The
attempt to bring together the conservation, China Hi-Tech fair in Shenzhen. This final result of this edition of the fair was:
rehabilitation, and transformation of the year was the 20th edition of this fair, 220 enquiries, with 106 companies
neighbourhood. which is dedicated to high technology contacted, 5 visits to companies "in situ"
industries, and it had a total of 3,278 and the participation in four external
The Plan introduces, as a modification, the exhibitors, 25 international pavilions, acts with companies.
constitution of a technical commission that more than 100 foreign delegations,
will inform about the projects, the carrying 612,000 visitors from 42 countries and Apart from the fair, Economic Promotion
out of a full study on the work on the buil- almost 3,000 private investors. visited business centres located in the
dings and elements, and the increases in city of Guangzhou and improved co-
protection of some of the elements. The China Hi-Tech fair is an excellent operation links with institutions from
shop window for the high technology both regions. This trip brought much
The Technical Commission will be able to industry in China and an excellent interest in Barcelona from companies
propose specific measures based on the opportunity to position the Barcelona and authorities in the Guangdong pro-
studies of the catalogued elements at level brand and at the same time attract high vince, which will generate future visits
D (those that enjoy a level of cultural inte- value Asian companies and stimulate from Chinese delegations to Barcelona.
rest that need documented conservation). investment and international relations
between local companies and China.
All this has been possible thanks to a par-
ticipation process involving 400 entities Economic Promotion took a stand and
from the Sant Martí district over 3 months. presented a seminar on business oppor-
tunities in Barcelona to 35 executives. 
12 13
barcelona bioregion barcelona companies
bioregion promotion to professionals first catalan capital risk company dedicated
to renewable energies
The BioRegion of Catalonia lity of life of citizens through the co-ordination of the biotechnology activity carried out
organised a seminar called in Catalonia, mainly in the area of life sciences and agofoods. 
"The BioRegion of Catalonia: Sustainable Investments Capital, founded For the moment, R&S 1 has investment SI Capital R&s 1 plans 17 projects with
international biotechnology The objective is to consolidate Catalonia's position as an international biotechnology in 2005 in Barcelona by two executives commitments for 12 million Euro, a figu- two already carried out, both of these in
benchmark" to promote itself to stakehol- benchmark with excellent research, a competitive business base, and a solid and dyna- from Riva and Garcia, Eusebio Güell and re that will rise. the solar energy business. In the first
ders and to analyse challenges and diffi- mic knowledge transfer system. Sebastian Waldburg, has the blessing of place, it has invested one million Euro to
culties faced by the biotechnology sector the CNMV to start a capital risk fund The Board, along with the two executives, take a 6.7% stake in Solynova Energia, a
in Catalonia. As such, the BioRegion of Catalonia, also has the objective of contributing to econo- (SCR), the first in the renewable energies will include Juan Coromina, academic company that plans to install photovoltaic
mic and social development through the promotion of what is a strategic sector, sector in Catalonia. The company will be director at the Family Company Institute, solar panel technology parks generating
The second deputy mayor and president namely biotechnology, which is considered a key success factor in order to increase called SI Capital R&S 1 and it will mana- and the lawyer Ignacio Goytisolo. The five megawatts of power. On the other
of the Economic Promotion, Employment knowledge and also drive the economy forward. ge some 80 million Euro. investment committee will be in charge of hand, the capital risk company will pay
and Knowledge Commission, Jordi looking for new opportunities in diverse 600,000 Euro for a stake in Enerstar
Portabella, inaugurated the event, which Basically, the investors will be financial renewable energy technology -solar, wind, Solar Thermal Project. This company will
was held in the headquarters of Caixa groups and Spanish family groups, bio-combustibles and hydraulic energy - promote a large thermoelectric solar
Fòrum in Barcelona last October. although international partners are not and in different execution phases. The net energy park in Villena (Alicante).
being ruled out in a future second phase. rate of return for the investor will be bet-
The seminar was divided into 5 sessions: ween 8% and 12%. 
challenges and difficulties of the biotech-
nology sector in Catalonia, the role of the
public sector in the BioRegion, local suc-
cess stories, international success stories,
and international financing.
The Foundation BioRegion of Catalonia
was founded on the 14th of February
2006 and it is a new regional develop-
ment model designed to improve the qua-
barcelona companies
60,000 professionals attend
3gsm world congress
Fira de Barcelona facilities played host a record number of visi- presentation of the “industrial 
tors for the 3GSM World Congress, the most important telephony
trade fair in the world held in Barcelona from February 12th to atlas of the metropolitan region of barcelona”
the 15th . Hosting the 3GSM World Congress in the capital of Catalonia for the
second consecutive year is clear recognition of the city's position as a headquarters
for large-scale world congresses. As well, it's a new opportunity to boost local busi- The Industrial Pact and Barcelona Regional have presented a study
nesses' opportunities in those sectors related to world mobile telephony industries, titled "Industrial Atlas of the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona.
namely ICT, software, and content creation. Territorial Analysis, Structure, Dynamics and Investment", which
was promoted by these two entities. The study allows the produc-
Barcelona City Council, the Generalitat, and the main economic stakeholders in the tion of the first-ever Industrial Atlas of the Metropolitan Region of
city signal that, as a world event, 3GSM consolidates Barcelona's position as a busi- Barcelona. 
ness city in the technology sector. It also helps to bolster the sort of innovation and
knowledge culture which the city is trying to promote by opening up opportunities for The Atlas identifies the current situation about land and industrial
the setting up of benchmark companies in this field. The number of participants and activity in the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona, based on the
their profiles (this level of concentration of executives in Barcelona hasn't been seen analysis of data from the period 1997-2002. The result is 60 maps
since the Olympics of 1992) mean that results are bound to have knock-on effects that illustrate the economic analysis of industry in the Metropolitan
on opinion leaders. Region of Barcelona at the territorial level. 
Experiences like these place Barcelona amongst the top cities in the world regarding The study has been carried out by a team of experts from the
the organisation of international meetings and they also help its positioning as a busi- Economics Faculty at Barcelona University and Barcelona Regional,
ness city, which was reflected by the rise from fifth to fourth overtaking Brussels in in the framework of the Commission on Economic Activity of the
the 2006 European Cities Monitor by Cushman & Wakefield. Industrial Pact, and the publishing of the Atlas was thanks to the
sponsorship of Barcelona Free Trade Zone (CZFB).
14 15
barcelona companies barcelona companies
barcelona hosts r&d centre for behr motorcycles smes in barcelona are 12.8% more productive 
The German multinational Behr is to diversify its refrigeration and cooling business by Behr has increased its sales for the first than the catalan average
moving into the motor industry with a new high growth motorcycle division. The com- time in three years and has grown 8% to
pany has installed its design centre for motorcycle cooling in Barcelona. The engineers turnover 330 million Euro. 
from Frape Behr will develop the design of these products, which will then be made in A study by the Association of Small and Economic Promotion, Jordi Portabella,
Montblanc. The Montblanc plant is currently making between 60,000 and 70,000 Medium sized companies (PIMEC) for countered criticism of over specialisation Main aspects of SMEs in
units annually and it expects to make a significant amount more. Barcelona City Council concludes that in services saying “big cities are specia- Barcelona and Catalonia
SMEs in Barcelona are 12.8% more pro- lists” and said that in any case compa-
The director of the Engineering and Refrigeration division for motorbikes, Jorge Díaz, ductive that the Catalan average. One in nies specialising in biotechnology, design
explains that the objectives for the group are Asia and the US. In 2005 some 34.9 every four SMEs in Catalonia is located in and medicine are service companies, too. % of SMEs in Barcelona over
million motorcycles were sold with more than 15 million in Asia. Barcelona, which represents 123,662 Catalonia
companies. These, according to the study, In terms of productivity, we need to
Díaz attributes the potential high growth of the refrigeration sector for motorcycles to generate 66.4% of the wealth created in remember that the contribution of the Companies:
issues like the rise in petrol prices, traffic, and environmental legislation. He calcula- the city of Barcelona in terms of gross medium sized company, which has bet- 25.1% 100%
tes that the overall market for cooling systems for motorcycles could rise between 10% added value (VAB), and 67.3% of ween 50 and 249 workers, to the gene- Employment:
and 20% in Europe and world respectively. employment and these companies make ration of gross added value is relatively 29.0% 100%
up 99.7% of the whole business network. high when compared to what happens in
GVA:
the rest of Catalonia. According to the
Regarding the figures given in the study, study, medium sized companies only 32.7% 100%
Productivity (euros/worker):
bayer moves spanish schering office from which correspond to data from 2004, we represent 1.3% of all companies, while
can see that SMEs in the city of Barcelona they generate 38.1% of the VAB of 112.8% 100%
madrid to barcelona generate almost one third of the whole SMEs. The smallest SMEs have the lar-
wealth of Catalonia (32.7%). The service gest number of workers (32.7%), and we
sector is the most important of the SMEs can highlight the number of self-emplo- Includes private and public sector
in Barcelona. The second deputy mayor yed people, with 60,830 entrepreneurs Source: PIMEC Studies Department (2006)
The Spanish health divi- The decision to move to Barcelona responds to the need to unite all its businesses in and president of the Commission for in the city.
sion Bayer Schering one city in order to facilitate a faster and more efficient integration into the company.
Pharma, which came The Chemical Pharmaceutical plant at Bayer, its health division, has 800 workers. 
about from the acquisition a year and a
half ago of German Schering by Bayer for What is still not clear is whether the offices will be located around the centre of the
16,900 million Euro, will have its head capital of Catalonia. Bayer is studying the possibility of moving to Sant Joan Despí,
office in Barcelona. The move will affect where the group has its accounting department for the multinational, called foodstufs industry creates employment in barcelona
160 workers from Madrid, which will Euroservices, with 420 workers. The idea is to concentrate its one thousand staff there
have to move to the Catalan capital at the in one large headquarters and also house the units from Schering in Madrid and those
beginning of the year. in the midtown Eixample district in Barcelona. The second deputy mayor at Barcelona City Council, Jordi Portabella, and the presi- One of the main conclusions of the report
dent of the Foundation for the Mediterranean Diet, Lluís Serra, have presented the was that there are more than 10,000
"Second Observatory for the Mediterranean Diet” to the press. The project, a Barcelona people and 370 companies working in
City Council initiative and the Foundation for the Mediterranean Diet, aims to extend the foodstuffs industry in Barcelona.
knowledge about the benefits of these sorts of foods from the social and economic Regarding the growth of foodstuffs busi-
30 companies plan to invest 125 million perspective. nesses, we can see that in the year 2000
they had 21 workers on average and this
in technology and create 1,000 jobs in catalonia Amongst the fields analysed in the second observatory, we find the evolution of the grew to 28 in 2004.
death rate due to different illnesses over the last 20 years in Spain, and on the other
hand, we have an economic analysis of the current state of the foodstuffs industry in The foodstuffs business is one of the main
During the last year and The yearly, 3 million Euro investment The acting head of the Generalitat's Work Barcelona and its metropolitan region. This study is based on data from the Social industries in the city of Barcelona and the
a half some 30 compa- is added to the Mare Nostrum supercom- and Industry department, Jordi Valls, said Security office. first in Catalonia in terms of business
nies (amongst them puter. that there are three key factors to this volume with 16% of the total, second in
Microsoft, IBM and investment strategy in Catalonia: "main- terms of VAB and employment.
Yahoo) have announced As well, the most traditional sectors in taining the tax reductions for spending on
technology investments Catalonia are betting on innovation for R&D, the concentration of technology jobs In relation to the degree to which the
in Catalonia that amount to 125 million their futures. Alstom Power will develop and the capacity to attract talent ". Mediterranean Diet is followed, families in
Euro and the creation of 1,000 jobs. applications for the railways market in Susana Tintoré, director of the Catalan Catalonia, Balears and Andalusia are
22@ and Mitsubishi will set up a unit for Investment Agency, also notes that labour those which most adhere to the
In October, Yahoo opened its only the development of advanced electronic costs are important: "Catalonia has well Mediterranean Diet. In fact, in the last
European centre dedicated to the impro- systems in Sant Cugat. Robert Bosch has qualified workers at more favourable rates two decades Spanish families, hotels and
vement of information and content search chosen Lliçà d'Amunt to set up an R&D for business than in Germany or France ". restaurant sectors have moved away from
technology and tools to compete with centre for a new braking system for the A report from the Union of Swiss Banks the Mediterranean diet model.
Google; and Microsoft announced it would whole of Europe and Siemens will invest reveals that the gross salary of an engine-
create a centre in Manresa to improve 13 million Euro until 2009 on the insta- er in Barcelona is 42,800$ a year, while In the healthsense, there is a positive
company productivity. The last technology llation of a technology centre working in in Paris it's 52,500$, in London figure in that over the last twenty years
investment is IBM Fòrum Barcelona, a the area of automatic train driving 63,100$, in Frankfurt 63,800$ and in the Spanish population has seen lower
space where the multinational has opened systems and an R&D laboratory for Los Angeles 76,700$. death rates due to strokes, heart attacks
four new centres with international com- European operations in Cornellà, which and arteriosclerosis.
petencies in innovation and solutions. will give work to almost 300 people. 
16 17
barcelona technologies barcelona technologies
italian mobile content group sets up microsoft converts barcelona into the european 
in barcelona capital of knowledge
The Italian group Dada, a supplier of mobile Last November Both events were held in the Barcelona International Convention Centre (CCIB), and the
services, has opened an office in Barcelona to Barcelona was the area of the Universal Forum of Cultures, where the IT Forum 2005 was held, too.
make the most of the boom in Spanish internet content. The com- location for Microsoft's
pany's management sees the Spanish market as offering high mar- most important world event, when it The capital of Catalonia also played host to the 2001 Tech Ed Europe meetings and
gins especially considering that high value activities for mobile ser- brought together its 8,500 European those in charge at Microsoft decided to repeat in two consecutive years.  
vices move some 359 million Euro, half that of Italy's market. computing professionals. Microsoft was
celebrating its two most important Although it's difficult to quantify, organisers estimate that the economic impact of the
The main Dada.net services fall under three products lines: European meetings together: the Tech Ed Tech Ed on the local environment is some 8 million Euro.
Love.dada.net dedicated to chats, Life.Dada.net which is a space Developers and Tech Ed IT Forum. The
to create virtual social networks and Mobi.Dada.net that offers two conferences are aimed at providing On the other hand, Microsoft and the local development agency Barcelona Activa sig-
downloadable applications for mobiles, with ring tones, screen ICT professionals and developers from ned an alliance as the first step in the creation of a class to train 150 technicians.
savers and games. Europe, the Middle East and Africa quality Amongst the students there will be 105 employees from the company that will follow a
training in Microsoft technologies and training programme and 45 unemployed people, whom will be helped to find work. 
But one of the latest Dada services is RCS Mobile, which offers platforms and also new ways of looking at The accord with Barcelona Activa will also boost the creation of companies by students,
sports, leisure and general information. and analysing the perspectives for the who will get the programmes free of charge. 
computing industry. Tech Ed is one of the
most important European ICT events.
Tech Ed Developers brought together
more than 3,700 software developers
from 50 countries to get extensive and
ibm locates 4 innovation centres in barcelona detailed information on Microsoft develop-
ment tools to create applications and ser-
vices, with special emphasis on the wor-
The multinational kings of the new Visual Studio and the
computing company new generation of Windows Vista and
IBM is to invest three Office 2007.
million Euro a year in four international
innovation centres located in Barcelona. El Tech Ed IT Forum saw more than
IBM Barcelona Forum will play host to 4,700 professionals who learnt about the
these four centres, which will be dedica- best form to plan, implement and manage
ted to the search for specific solutions for the security of ICT. The new aspects and
the banking and health sectors, techno- capacities of Windows Vista and Office
logy exploration and innovation. 2007, from the area of infrastructures,
were the main issues on the agenda.
Amparo Moraleda, president of IBM in
Spain, explains that the company hopes
that the Health Competency Centre will
become just as important as its Banking
centre, which was founded in 2003 in headquarters of telefonica in the forum area
order to help financial institutions design
the bank branches of the future. The
department has become the most impor- The Zona Franca The Consortium will hand the building
tant in Europe in the development of solu- free trade zone con- over to Telefónica at the end of 2009. The
tions for the banking sector. sortium of Barcelona tower, which will house the telephone
(CZFB) will construct the corporate head- company's offices in Barcelona, will have
IBM set up in Barcelona in 1926, and quarters of Telefónica, a Spanish telepho- 1,500 people working there. 
provides work for 1,000 people in ne company, in Catalonia via a “turn key”
Catalonia and boasts a network of 5,000 project promoted by CZFB in the Forum The construction of the new headquarters
partnering companies. Zone in Barcelona. and R&D centre in Barcelona will form a
central part of Telefónica's strategy in
The project will require an investment of Catalonia, which also includes the loca-
70 million Euro by CZFB, of which 45.6 tion of a Telefónica University at La Roca
are construction costs. del Vallès that will train 6,000 executives
from the 20 countries where the company
The future headquarters of Telefónica in presently has operations.
Catalonia will be a 110 metres high tower
with 24 floors, and this is set to become
the new icon of vanguard Barcelona. Enric
Massip-Bosch will construct the building
and it will be located at the crossroads of
carrer deTaulat and Avinguda Diagonal. 
18 19